InContemplation
Spontaneous is not a word people would use to describe me. At best, I’ll decide last minute to go out to eat. I certainly don’t make the decision to go to an author signing after reading a newsletter two weeks before the event. Still, I stepped out of my comfort zone and texted my niece, Jordyn (17), to see if she was down for a road trip.
The author in question was Darcy Coates featuring S.A. Barnes and they were at a little bookshop just outside of Chicago in Downer’s Grove. I own every Darcy Coates novel and am a recent fan of S.A. Barnes. Jordyn, though unfamiliar, was more than happy to join. We got up early on Friday morning (August 29th) and after getting coffee, we were on our way to the book signing.
Three and a half hours later, after stopping for lunch, things got a little wonky. My car began to feel a little strange. You know that moment when you’re like, is it me or is it the road/music/another car? That is the feeling that sets in. I pulled over at the next rest stop as the turbulence continued to check my tire pressure. I thought it was that I was out of alignment or that my tires were low. I drove to the next gas station and added some air but the shaking continued. There was no way I was continuing without having things checked, especially with my niece in the car. Two shops which were too busy led me to the Ford dealership in Grinnell, Iowa. Brad, the service manager, was kind enough to squeeze me in and we had just enough cushion to have the alignment done and still make it. We walked around town, played at a playground and enjoyed ice cream before heading back to the waiting room. At that point, our little window had slipped away and it was extremely unlikely we were making it for the signing.
Brad finally broke the news to me. I had a broken axle on the driver’s side. We were not going anywhere that night and certainly not to Chicago. I’m not going to lie, I wanted to burst into tears. Three hours away from home, no book signing and in need of a hotel, preferably in walking distance and my niece watching me while texting on her phone.
Thirty minutes later, we had settled into a hotel and I’d made four phone calls to get things sorted. One, to the other hotel (cancelled with no charge!), call two was to the bestie to vent (and an offer to pick us up), call three to insurance and call four to my big brother because well…he’s my big brother! I made the decision to stay the night and get a rental in the morning to drive us back to Kansas City. In the meantime, we needed to salvage this road trip.
Luckily, Hotel Grinnell was an EXCELLENT choice (it was a seven minute walk) and Jordyn is as low maintenance as nieces come. Upon checking in, we discovered that there was a table of snacks, and a fridge of beverages and novelty ice cream. All free (well, included ha ha) and we immediately took advantage. As we headed to our room we found complimentary bikes and a ballroom. Ballroom as in pickleball courts! There was also shuffleboard, corn hole, and tables with board games. The restaurant, The Periodic Table, also had lots of board games including a wall dedicated to magnetic Scrabble. Once we’d found our room (cathedral ceilings!), we found great beds, hardwood floors and a huge bathroom with a soaking tub!
Jordyn and I spent a couple hours playing pickleball before enjoying dinner. We needed to work off the calories and circled back to the ballroom. Jordyn took advantage of the soaking tub before we snagged some ice cream to go with our movie (KPop Demon Hunters). In the morning, we packed up and took Uber to the rental place before heading home.
It wasn’t at all what I had planned for the weekend. I still got my quality time with Jordyn. She’s going to be an ‘adult’ before I know it and it’s important to me that she knows I’m there. That she can always count on me. She’s transitioning to this new stage where she’ll need to handle things on her own more and more. If she finds herself in a similar situation, I hope she looks back at this weekend. You can take a few minutes to freak out (and cry) but still handle want needs to be done. You don’t have to let a moment ruin the entire memory.
I also hope she remembers to always get your car looked at, better safe than sorry.
